The Chicago Bears have waited long enough to address the pass rush, and Austin Booker’s latest brush with injury should be enough to push the team into a reaction.
Booker is battling a soft-tissue injury that could threaten his availability early in the regular season.
“Austin Booker is ‘banged up’ and is working through a groin injury, per Ben Johnson,” Courtney Cronin of ESPN reported via X on Thursday, August 27. “He’s considered week to week.”
Given Booker’s health uncertainty, as well as the limited options now available to Chicago to bolster its pass-rush from the front four after failing to agree to trades for either defensive end Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders or defensive tackle Vita Vea of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Chicago must now turn to free agency.
Arguably the best option still available is Leonard Floyd, the former No. 9 overall pick of the Bears in the 2016 NFL draft.
Bears Can Make Reasonable Bet on Leonard Floyd Bouncing Back in 2026
Floyd had a down year with the Atlanta Falcons in 2025, producing just 3.5 sacks in 15 games played. But he still managed 36 total pressures and 23 quarterback hurries on 287 pass-rush snaps.
Furthermore, Floyd has some potential to bounce back in terms of hard counting statistics heading into his age-34 campaign. He produced 48 sacks across a five-year run between 2020-24 and will operate for the remainder of his career as a pass-rush specialist.
Such players have shown the ability to have meaningful success into their mid-to-late 30s, and that is exactly the type of defensive end Chicago is going to need if Booker has any health problems moving forward.
Floyd earned $10 million from the Falcons on a one-year contract in 2025, and Spotrac projects his market value at $8.9 million this season. However, the Bears could likely negotiate a better deal at this point on the league calendar and considering the limited market remaining for Floyd to join a roster before Week 1.
Austin Booker Starting Year With Injury Problems Again
Booker, third-year defensive end, is slated to serve as a pass-rush specialist opposite Montez Sweat when Dayo Odeyingbo rotates inside on third-down passing situations.
That plan is sensible on its face, but it relies on two significant bets Chicago has made this offseason paying out. The first is that Odeyingbo returns healthy from an Achilles tear he suffered during the middle of last season and plays better than he did during a disappointing first campaign after inking a three-year, $48 million contract.
The second wager is that Booker, who missed the first seven games last season with a knee injury, remains healthy and takes another step forward after playing well down the stretch — he finished 2025 with 12 QB hits, five tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.
While it remains possible Booker could be back to full health by Week 1, or soon thereafter, his injury highlights how perfectly things must go for Chicago’s defense to even replicate its pass rush effectiveness from last season, which was near the bottom of the NFL in meaningful advanced metrics like pass-rush win rate and quick pressures.
Booker’s current groin issue points to the likelihood of more problems in the near future, which the Bears defense can’t afford as the secondary is already beaten up to a significant degree.
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